Is he the one based in the Lake District? Or was that another private chef from one of the other heats. And his name is Matt, I think.

Yes, we were sorry to see Tasso go, and I think Monica and Marcus were as well. They had been awfully nice to him in the earlier rounds and you got the feeling they wanted to nurture and encourage a young chef with a lot of promise - but they really had no option but to send him home, sadly. Not checking the freezer door ...

Matt really did shine, so did his teeth! Has anyone heard of smoking food over dung before??? I certainly haven't. I think he was the only chef who made zero mistakes (wasn't he?) and didn't break out in a sweat once.

Just catching up on this on i-player, I was sorry to see Tasso go after such a "stoatin" first round but it just went to bits for him. Felt really sorry for John who going by the circles under his eyes has just pushed himself too far. Was really impressed by Matt hope he can keep it up and not have a wobble in later stages.

I was rooting for Tasso. Needs a few years of experience under his belt I think but this must have given him a good confidence boost.

John did look tired and a bit overwhelmed by it all. He did the 3-D tree orange blossom pana cotta didn't he? Apart from the over use of gelatine, about which I am sure he is still kicking himself, I loved it! Shame it fell a bit flat for him.

It is easy to predict Matt as over all winner but is is too obvious at this stage? If he comes up against equally good performances in future tests we could be in for a real treat and battle on our hands. Whoohoo!

I continue to be blown away by Matt, especially his bravery this evening using vegan products such as almond milk to produce a stunning dish that could have, I thought, fooled any non vegan. There is something about him that makes me think he expects to win and seemed to be quite bossy in the team challenge without doing much of the plating himself, more directing the whole operation on the starter, but then that shows promising leadership skills where he has currently been used to working as a private chef under his own steam presumably?

The young lad was most certainly the star of the show though. I could have sunk my gums straight into that passionfruit and lemon parfait with white chocolate crumble. It was a picture on a plate. A very adept young man.

I thought Leo would be off home tonight.

Really looking forward to next week now. One of the only programmes on TV right now that has me hanging on the edge of my seat by my buttocks for a whole hour. It's like a posterior work out.

The vegan dessert was very clever, but I thought it looked really ‘gooey’ inside, and not in a good way. I think any other layered dessert like that would have been criticised for not having separate layers. Think Tuesdays food overall looked much more appetising than last nights.Really enjoying this series......

The top two (three) and the bottom two were clear from the off tonight. I am trying not to be swayed by Matt but it's hard not to be. I love Steven's personality, cheeky happy, lovely dimps, lovely giggle, a lot of energy. I was salivating at Craig's flapjack pud. My teeth almost hurt just looking at the sweet elements of oats and dates. I couldn't have eaten the carrot steak dish from Jamie. It looked like it was crawling with grubs! My beetle/bug/cockroach phobia kicked in just looking at it!I hope in the next rounds we don't have to see any more duck eggs. Yawn, now.Thoroughly enjoyed tonight's fix all in all. Minus my phobia trigger.

I think Matt and Jamie are the two stand-out chefs. That said, the two young ones, Louisa and Craig are amazing! Not sure about Tom - totally agree about Steven. His joy in cooking is so clear to see. I suspect that Matt has that wow factor and the ability to create totally new dishes that will win in the end ... but we'll see!

KC2 wrote:I think Matt and Jamie are the two stand-out chefs. That said, the two young ones, Louisa and Craig are amazing! Not sure about Tom - totally agree about Steven. His joy in cooking is so clear to see. I suspect that Matt has that wow factor and the ability to create totally new dishes that will win in the end ... but we'll see!

I agree that Matt creates the Wow dishes, but I find myself not wanting to eat them.........whilst the creative take on fish and chips had me salivating. Likewise, I wasn’t keen on how Matt bossed the other chefs around in an earlier round, but understand that part of being a top chef is taking command. I guess what I am saying in a roundabout way is that Matt invokes conflicting emotions in me!

I've a feeling that with the right mentor Steven could learn to do all the stuff that Matt does .............. whether any of the others could somehow acquire the innate nurturing joy that food brings out in Steven I'm not so sure ......... I'd love to eat his food and watch him smile as I did so

Matt peaked too soon ... he had no more rabbits to pull out of the bag and didn't show any learning from the stint in the professional kitchen and just kept on doing his own thing. The other two kept on learning and went past him ... Steven's food looks as if it has amazing 'mouth-feel' as well as being exceptionally beautiful, and makes me hungry just looking at it ... I would really love to eat his food

I knew from the moment Matt started listing his ingredients he was the most likely to be heading for the door. It seemed that the last rabbit in the hat was simply to use as many obscure ingredients as he could assemble. he will make a great chef one day as soon as he gets his extensive knowledge and imagination in co-ordination.

Stevens food did indeed look wonderful.

Mr R was questioning the overall judging though. How did they select the two groups? What if tonight no-one reaches the same heights?

Cooking for those you care about is the most profound expression of love - Anne-Sophie Pic

Wow, are we in for a treat next week? Four absolutely amazing chefs with keen ambition. Tom had to go. He presented some beautiful food but didn't seem to have the 'voom' of Louisa and Craig. Thoroughly enjoyed that!

cyprusmoira wrote:I was impressed by the head chef at Le Manoir, he was obviously happy to teach others, also the food although beautiful was not too tricksy. The menu at the Raby Hunt was real showing off cooking

Yes, I agree with you Moira. I think that the two sets of contestants' experiences were poles apart, but it seemed to me that it was very appropriate for the two youngest contestants to get the chance to learn from such a dedicated and good teacher and that's possibly why the groups were divided up the way they were. Not to say more experienced chefs wouldn't also have had a fantastic learning experience but somehow it just seemed the right thing for Louisa and Craig. And they both did really well.

My biggest low, Greg popping up unnecessarily stuffing his face. No need! Also the use of powders. I really don't get those. Has anyone here encountered them before? Were they nice? Burnt onions are okay at a fun fair with a hot dog. On a chef's table?

But lows aside, there were many highs, I thought. All four chefs seemed to be enjoying themselves and really throwing their all into it. Jamie is now really shining for me. I am going to put in a prediction that he will win. He is so focussed on everything he does. Always concentrating.

Rats ... your laptop is doing what mine sometimes does, and mixes up the sentences ... isn't it annoying?

Sadly I can't see Louisa surviving any further ... it's a pity 'cos she's so full of potential ... hopefully one of the chefs there last night will offer her a position where she can gain some confidence and really blossom.

Well, now that I got the elimination prediction wrong, I am not even going to bother predicting the over all winner. I will have a bit of a guess though. For skills factor, Craig, for personality factor Steven. Louisa, no way.

Jamie's tart didn't even look like a very good tart ......... everyone has an off day but his was very badly timed.

I'm pleased Louisa eventually learned to rein herself in and allow what she'd learned to come to the fore ... I think all three are pretty even now ... it really will depend on what they each produce in the final .......... but Stephen's my favourite

The best man won! My buttocks were gripping the edge of my chair again throughout. What a great result. Well done that winner. Let's see how all three of them progress with their careers. Wonderfully exiting for all of them!

miss mouse wrote:I still think was it Mark? The private chef was good.

Do you mean Matt? the one who did the weird stuff with sheep's dung and such like?

I thought Craig definitely outcooked Louisa. It's incredible that he can have got so far and still only be 21!I felt very sad for Steven with his undercooked lamb. Not a mistake he should have made, I'm afraid, particularly in the MC Finals!!